


Resonance and Frequency

by Terrie



Series: Natural Phenomena [7]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, M/M, Sibling Bonding, no Flashpoint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 04:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10455456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terrie/pseuds/Terrie
Summary: Family is complicated.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story is almost 100% the product of my feelings that the show never exploited the potential of Dante. What's the point of fanfic if not to indulge ourselves. :)

Cisco fiddles with the wrapper from his straw while he waits. Monthly dinners with Dante are getting less awkward. It's a mix of finding the old rhythm they had as kids and creating a new rhythm. Not that it's been easy. The first time, Dante had spent the entire evening looking over his shoulder, waiting for an attack that had, thankfully, never come. Not that Cisco has never had to bail to deal with Flash business, but at least it's never shown up at dinner. Still, when Dante is over twenty minutes late, his thoughts do go there.

He reaches into his pocket. After Caitlin had been taken, he started pushing himself on some aspect of his powers. He's still super shaky on getting things to work without the glasses. But if he has something to work with, like the leather bracelet he'd snagged after Dante had dropped it in the cup holder in the car when the strap had snapped, he usually has some luck. He doesn't get much, mainly a sense of movement, but it's enough to be reasonably sure he's only late and hasn't been kidnapped. Jerk could at least call.

Five more minutes. If Dante doesn't show by then, or at least let Cisco know where the hell he is, he's leaving. Standard burgers and mediocre wings are not worth his time. He's looking for the waitress to pay for his drink when Dante finally slides into the booth across from him. "Sorry, man. Semi overturned on 180 west."

"Shit. Was anyone hurt?"

"Not that I saw, but the road's under about half an inch of mayo." Dante pulls a menu towards himself. "Hope they get it cleaned up or the commute tomorrow is going to suck. And smell awful."

"My day was still weirder." Cisco signals for the waitress. He's not sure if Dante knows what he wants yet, but Cisco is starving and is getting some fries. Plus a cheeseburger. They have some decent beer on tap, but what he really wants is a chocolate shake. Dante can give him all the crap he wants about juvenile tastes, but Cisco is going to have a damned milkshake. "I spent the day at Iron Heights, designing an escape proof toilet for a meta who can liquify himself."

Dante orders along with Cisco and even manages not say anything about Cisco's shake. "How do you even...?"

He's not sure if Dante is actually interested, being polite by pretending to be interested or just baffled by the overall idea. It's still nice to have him ask. "Guy can't hold a liquid form below freezing. So you divert the pipes to a holding tank held at a low enough temperature. But you have to have two tanks, obviously, and some way to detect when to switch between the tanks."

"So, not something they can just call a plumber for." 

Cisco rolls his eyes. "Not really, no."

"Hey, like you could tell me the difference between a perfect fifth and a diminished sixth." When Cisco says nothing, he spreads his hands as if to say 'See.' "We all have our skills."

"Showoff." He flicks an ice cube at Dante. The accusation is teasing, where once it would have been cutting, a fallback to the banter of their high school years. "I don't know who you're trying to impress, because the waitress is wearing a wedding ring and you know you don't have any chance of impressing me."

"The ladies think I'm impressive without any effort on my part."

Cisco makes a gagging sound. "How do you manage any relationship when your ego is big enough to take up the whole room?"

"They will tell you size doesn't matter, but they are lying." Dante holds Cisco's gaze for a long moment before the corners of his mouth start to twitch. "Okay, I can't say that and still keep a straight face." 

"That was bad, dude." Cisco shakes his head. Seriously sad. "It doesn't even make any sense. Now that we have established you are not getting laid anytime soon, how are things? Work going okay?"

"Office politics suck," he declares. "Be glad you don't work in one. Though, speaking of work and getting laid, there's a new girl at my office."

"And let me guess. She's all into you." When it comes to his love life, Dante has always been a bit of a braggart. Nothing too over the top, just proud of his ability to catch and keeps a woman's attention. To be what they wanted and make them happy. Unlike Cisco, whose dating history is littered with disasters much worse than Lisa Snart.

"Actually, no. I'm not her type. You are."

Cisco stops with his drink halfway to his mouth and stares at Dante over the top of the glass. "I what now?"

"She saw your picture on my desk. The one mom made us all sit for at Christmas. Anyway, Claire thinks you're cute. I've got her number if you want it."

Cisco is still caught up in the idea that Dante has a picture of him on his desk. Okay, a picture of both of them and their parents, but still a picture that he was in. And it would be a picture of him in a suit, looking nothing like himself. He looks across the table at Dante, who is still waiting for his answer. "Sorry, going to have to pass."

"I know receptionist at an insurance company isn't exactly on the level of what you do, but she's perfectly smart. Not bad looking, either. If she had the good taste to be interested, I'd go for it, but for some crazy reason, she likes your look instead."

"It's not that." If that mattered, he would have never asked Kendra out. Which, given how things turned out, might not be the best example."I'm seeing someone. It's pretty serious."

"Since when?"

The waitress arrives with food, which gives Cisco time to do the math. He cringes slightly at what he comes up with. “About two months now.”

“Two months, huh?” His scrutiny makes Cisco squirm a little in his seat. “So what’s his name?”

“What makes you think--?”

“Oh, c’mon, Cisco.” Dante starts counting off his points on his fingers. “I offer to set you up with someone and your first response is you’re not interested, not that you’re seeing someone. This is the first time you’ve mentioned it, even though we saw each other three weeks ago. And if it was a her, not a him, I wouldn’t have to ask for a name.”

As much as it irritates him, Cisco can’t really argue with that. Not when it’s right. “Harry. His name is Harry.”

“So when were you planning on introducing the family to this guy?”

Cisco stabs one of his fries into his ketchup. “Oh, somewhere around… never.”

Dante sighs. “Man, just because Mom and Dad buy into all the shit the Church says doesn’t mean you should hide.”

“Says the guy who doesn’t need to put up with it.” Cisco shakes his head. “But that’s not why. You remember that guy from before? Rupture? The one with the scythe, who looked like you?”

“Not going to forget him any time soon.”

Cisco can’t blame him for that. It’s not something he’s ever going to forget either. “Harry’s like him. He’s from another world.”

“So whose face is he walking around with?” The question is hesitant, like Dante is afraid of the answer. 

Cisco takes a deep breath. Once he says this next bit, there’s no turning back. “Harry’s short for Harrison.” 

“Like your boss?” At Cisco’s nod, he says, “You’re dating your boss?”

“He’s no more my boss than you’re a scythe-wielding maniac.” Cisco looks down and frowns. He’s been shredding his napkin into teeny-tiny pieces. He shoves the whole mess away. “Harry’s Harry. He’s his own brilliant, crazy-making person. No matter who shares his face.”

Dante is silent, his fingers tapping against the table. It's only when Cisco's about ready to scream that he says, “Well, I hope it works out for you. Even if I do not understand your thing for nerdy white boys.”

“Excuse me?” His eyebrows climb up towards his hairline. “I do not have a thing for nerdy white boys. I’ve dated plenty of guys who are nothing like that.”

“None of the ones I’ve met.”

“You’ve met, like, two of the guys I’ve dated.” He holds up a couple of fingers for emphasis. “That’s not exactly a representative sample.”

Dante shrugs. “They were still the same type.”

“Me dating guys. It’s never bothered you.” He’s never really admitted that before, treating the issues with their parents and the issues with Dante like they were the same. But they’re not. His sexuality is just one more thing that makes their parents push Cisco to the side. No rejected or kicked out, just set to the side. The worst Dante has ever done is call the guy he was dating in college boring. 

“Cisco, there are a lot of weird things about you. But I’m a musician. I hang out with other musicians. Your sexual escapades? Don’t even make the list. Now, are you going to finish your fries?”

Dante has a fry in his mouth before Cisco even finishes pushing the plate towards him.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: The next story in this series is already half done and was started when I was partway through Cryptic Behavior. And I still don't have a title for it. Since I ended up theming the story names, when I can find the right one, it's like "Yes! This!" And when I can't? So much struggle. I spend a lot of time in the science section of Wikipedia.
> 
> You can follow me at [terrie01.tumblr.com](http://terrie01.tumblr.com)


End file.
